The present invention provides a billing system for communications networks that provides discounts for callers who exceed a host defined frequency of calls.
As is known, communication networks provide a medium for information exchange services. Under the known "1-900" service, for example, a customer dials a phone number associated with an information provider ("host company"). The customer incurs an access charge, called a "host charge," paid to the host company for release of desired information. The charges typically are per minute charges. For the purposes of this document, calls made under the 1-900 service or other services in which a host company earns revenue from a call are called "host payable calls."
Communication networks, such as the public switched telephone network, facilitate host payable calls. When a customer dials a telephone number identifying the host company, the communication network associates the telephone number with the host company's communication equipment and completes a call connection between the customer and the host's equipment. A communication switch within the network (the "billing switch") generates a billing record identifying administrative information relating to the call. The billing switch is one of the switches provided in a call path extending from the caller to the host. Typically, it is the first switch in the path, the one closest to the caller. For example the billing record may identify the customer's telephone number, the dialed telephone number, the time of the call, the time of day and the length of the call. Typically, the billing record is routed to a billing subsystem within the network.
The billing subsystem typically includes adjunct processors in communication with the switches and a router system that routes billing records from the adjunct processors to a rating system. The rating system includes two databases. A first database stores host profiles that identify, inter alia, the host charges that are assessed by the various host companies. The host profiles may identify host charges that are flat rates or per minute rates. A second database stores billing data of the various customers.
The billing subsystem examines the billing record to determine how to bill the call. The rating system determines that the call is a host payable call and refers the dialed number to the host database. It retrieves the associated host profile and identifies the host charge that should be charged to the customer. Responsive to the host charge information, the rating system calculates a charge against the customer. It writes the charge to the billing database.
The billing database is written with charges to be assessed against customers for all sorts of communication services, not only host payable calls but also collect calls, charge card calls and traditional long distance toll calls. A billing processor within the billing subsystem assembles the customer charges into traditional phone bills that customers receive.
The host charges of host payable calls are charged by the host company and earned by the host company. The host charges assessed against customers are credited to the host company. The rating system identifies a host credit earned by the host company and may write the credit to the host company's billing record in the billing database. In certain embodiments, the billing system may issue payments to host companies.
In addition to the host charge, the communication network typically assesses charges for the communication connection against the customer, against the host company or against both. The rating system also determines a connection charge to be assessed against the customer and/or host company and refers the connection charge to the billing system.
Host companies compete against each other for customers. One way they currently compete is through cost--host companies attempt to undercut each other in the host charges billed to the customers. Additionally, host companies would like to compete by encouraging customers to call into their respective services regularly and are inclined to offer discounts to "repeat callers" who do. Unfortunately, no known communication network provides a billing system that permits frequency discounts to be offered to customers.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a 1-900 type service that provides for frequency based discounts to customers that use the service.